On a Monday, in the middle of August, I noticed Coop had seven mosquito bites, three of which were pretty nasty looking. With WN going around, I had a little, "uh oh" thought float through my mind, but quickly dismissed any concerns. The next day, Tuesday, Coop got super fussy in the evening, didn't want to eat dinner, and fell asleep on the floor in his bedroom at 6:00 p.m. I didn't think much about it, just thought he was extra tired that day.
The next morning the boys and I went to the mall for a quick errand and decided to go to story time at the library there, which normally Coop enjoys. However, I could tell he wasn't feeling well because he was getting more and more sluggish, asking me to carry him, and after only a minute or two into story time told me he was ready to go home and lay down. Coop was also feeling warm to me, so we quickly headed home.
Sure enough Coop had a fever and a few hours after we got home, he threw up. (This was only the second time he's even thrown up. He doesn't remember the first, and after it happened, he looked down on the floor and asked, "Mom...what is that?!")
Coop's fever didn't get too high that night, I think not above 101, but after he was in bed I did a little online reading about WN. Those nasty mosquito bites were just nagging at me a little. I read that symptoms can show up as early as three days and can start with fever and vomiting. Official panic started to set in with this Mama. (Coop got his bites on a Sunday and the symptoms started showing up on Wednesday...exactly three days later.)
Thursday (9 days before we leave for the beach)
Cooper was super sluggish all day and by mid afternoon, his fever was in the high 102s. At one point Cooper tried to get up and after standing for a slight second, laid back down telling me, "When I stand it feels like my brain is bleeding." I decided it was time to call the doc. We got an appointment for 8:45 that evening. WAY past bedtime. Coop was already asleep, but we got him out of bed and went up to the doc office, jammies and all. He wasn't at all fussy. I think, in fact, he was glad we were going because he was feeling so crummy. Our regular pediatrician happened to be out on vacation, so we saw another doctor. We started the appointment with, "Feel free to laugh, but I think he might have WN...." The doc calmed any fears we had of that, informed us it was probably just a stomach bug, and he'd be fine in a few days. Plus, the blood lab was closed that evening so we couldn't do a blood test for WN anyway. She sent us off with instructions for caring for a stomach bug.
That Weekend
We made it through the weekend with zero improvement, and Philip and I both thought Coop was actually getting worse. Not eating, barely drinking, super pale, and sluggish. Lethargic, even. His fever pattern was the same every day--he'd wake with it in the low 100s and it would peak around 4:00 p.m. at almost 103. He barely got off the couch and just didn't have any life in him.
Monday (5 days before we leave for the beach)
I called the doctor's office again Monday morning to get another appointment. A stomach bug just wasn't sitting right with me. Our regular doctor was still out of town, so we saw ANOTHER doctor. I caught him up on where we were and he, too, tried to convince me it was a stomach bug. Even though it was six days in, with a fever every day, and NO ONE in our house had any symptoms of a stomach bug. The doctor told me that "these viruses are widly contagious. You are lucky you haven't caught it!" He sent us off with "I'm sure he'll be better by tomorrow." It still wasn't sitting well with me.
Wednesday (3 days before we leave for the beach)
Officially seven days in, Coop was still super sick, no signs of getting better and at times he was seeming worse to me. He had zero energy and still maintained his fever pattern. He'd move between the couch, the brown chair, and our bed, watching different shows or taking naps. We'd go outside every now and then, when he felt like getting up, to eat a popsicle. This was the only thing I could get him to eat. By mid-morning, I called the doctor's office again, hoping our regular doctor was back. And, luckily, he was! He called me back and asked me to bring Cooper in that afternoon. It was during this appointment when I finally felt like someone was taking me seriously that NO, this is not a stomach bug, and YES, it might be WN. Our doc decided to run some blood tests and test him for WN. Poor Coop was such a trooper. He was feeling horrible and they had to stick his arm to draw blood. Our doc mentioned that we might need to take him to the ER to have IV fluids, but gave us until the following day to really get him hydrated.
I was constantly asking Coop if he was hurting. He'd rub his neck, I'd ask if it hurts. He'd scratch his head, I'd ask if it hurts. He would usually tell me "no," but at four years old, I wasn't sure if he could tell me exactly what was hurting. He just wasn't himself, nowhere near himself, and I was worried.
Friday (1 day before we leave for the beach)
Doc called with blood test results, but the WN results weren't in yet and they didn't expect them until Monday!! Luckily, everything look normal in all the other blood tests he ran, so that was reassuring, at least. I gave our doctor an update on Coop, which wasn't much. Mostly the same, but he was starting to have one little "energy" moment a day. And by energy, I mean, he felt ok to go outside and swing or walk down the sidewalk. Our doctor knew we were supposed to leave the following day, so he asked that we bring Coop in one more time to have someone look at him before we left and to check his weight and hydration. Coop had lost three pounds by this point and if his weight was any lower, again, Doc told us we'd have to go to the ER for IV fluids. Back up at the doctor office, luckily Coop hadn't lost any more weight and the doctor didn't think he looked dehydrated. After one more phone call with our pediatrician, he thought as long as Coop felt ok to fly, we could head on to the beach. But we made a plan to talk on Monday.
The next morning, we headed to the beach! Coop did fine traveling and it probably helped to get out of the house and away from the couch for a little bit. He was excited to get to our beach house and play with Jackson. Those first several days at the beach, Coop was starting to show more signs of life. He had some energy and he was actually eating! He did a lot of sitting and digging in the sand as opposed to running around, and I could tell he still just wasn't himself. And, that darn fever kept the same pattern--peaking at 103 around 4:00 everyday.
Monday (12 days with a fever)
Doc called with WN results....this is where it gets confusing. Two results: one positive for having WN in the past; one negative for having WN now. However, Doc didn't know what exactly "in the past meant." Did it mean it was in his blood a few days before we tested the blood, but wasn't enough there to show positive for when we tested? Or did it mean he had it last year? Unfortunately, there's just not enough information out there about WN. I had a good talk with our doctor and he told me it could be WN or it could be something that we haven't found yet. He gave us until Wednesday: if Coop still had a fever, we needed to come home for more testing. And, he really emphasized to me that if Coop got worse, we'd need to find an ER. (Oh...and a possible hurricane or tropical storm was approaching and they were going to shut down roads and airports. Just sayin...)
I actually remember Monday night being really bad for Cooper. We were playing on the beach around sunset and he started telling me he was hurting and didn't feel well. Philip was already in the house with Austin, so I swooped Coop up and walked up to the house. We didn't rinse the sand off once we got up to the house. I carried him inside, up the stairs, straight to the bath. Checked his temp, gave him more tylenol and laid down in bed with him. Then, this Mama had a huge meltdown. I was so worried about my baby. I was sure we were going home on Wednesday...
Tuesday (13 days with a fever)
Philip and I both commented that Coop seemed a little better this day. Still had a fever, but showing more signs of energy. However, Wednesday was looming. Another phone call to the doc and possibly going home if that darn fever showed it's face!
Wednesday
Coop had a good morning, only woke up with 99.9 temperature. Which is not really even a fever. I wanted to wait until 4:00 to check his temp again and call the doc. Sure enough, at 4:00, when his fever usually reached 103, the thermometer only read 100.something (don't remember, exactly, but I do remember it was below 101). This was good!! Played phone tag with the doc that evening, but his message was that if Coop continued to improve, he thought we were good and no need to come home.
Thursday
Same story, and I don't think Coop's temp got above 100.4 (which, in kid-terms, is the official fever number). It was like this thing was disappearing as quickly as it came on.
Coop's fever didn't return, but it was probably another two weeks before he was back to himself--energy and liveliness-wise. This nasty and stupid WN took my little man out for a total of FOUR WEEKS! It was scary. Really, really scary, at times. I cried a lot and was super stressed out and I wasn't myself, either, because of the stress and unknown of what was going on. I just felt helpless and frustrated that we couldn't get answers. There's no medicine you can take for WN; you just have to let it run it's course. Going through this whole thing makes me so glad to have the pediatrician that we have. He listened, took me seriously and took the situation seriously. In fact, he told me (after the fact) that he was worried about Coop, too, and lost sleep over the whole situation. In the end, our doctor agreed that it probably was WN, but a slight chance that it could have been some other weird virus. But it just didn't make sense that he had a fever, was vomiting (in the beginning) and had other symptoms for 14 days and not a SINGLE OTHER person who came in contact with Coop got sick. Not even Austin, who out of anyone, would be the most likely to catch something. Gammi, Poppi, Annie and Allan all come over to check on Coop and bring him little gifts, and they didn't get sick, either. It just doesn't add up to be anything else... But, all that matters now, is that Cooper is healthy. He's healthy. He's HEALTHY!
